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Archimedes: The Mathematecian
29-01-2013 20:08Archimedes was born circa 287 B.C. in Syracuse, Sicily and spent most of his life there but he may also have studied with scholars in Alexandria. He was well known to his contemporaneous scientists for his inventions but his theories were exploited by Arabs and Byzantines in the early Middle Ages.
Archimedes invented a water screw for irrigation and also proved the basic principle of hydrostatics, which a solid immersed in a fluid, is lighter than its true weight by the weight of the fluid displaced. The story that Archimedes ran naked through the streets crying, “Eureka!” (“I have found it!”), is believed to be no more than popular legend.
Although, another incident attributed to Archimedes is totally true. When the Roman army attacked Syracuse, Archimedes was contemplating a mathematical diagram and he was so focused on this that he ignored an approaching Roman soldier. The soldier commanded him to come and meet General Marcellus but Archimedes denied, saying that he had to finish working on the problem. The soldier was enraged by this and killed Archimedes with his sword (212 B.C.).
The last words attributed to Archimedes are "Do not disturb my circles", a reference to the circles in the mathematical drawing that he was studying when disturbed by the Roman soldier. The General was reportedly angered by the death of Archimedes, as he considered him a valuable scientific asset and had ordered not be harmed.
The achievements of Archimedes were not widely known during antiquity. His texts were translated into Latin between the 12th and 15th century, making Archimedes the principal influence on European thought over Mathematics.
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